Uncover Your Dog’s Ancestry: Why a Wisdom Panel DNA Test Is Worth It

Do you ever wonder about your mixed dog’s heritage? I used to ask myself that all the time, so finally I went ahead and bought myself a dog DNA test. We went through Wisdom Panel, took the test, and had the results back in about 3 weeks.

I had a lot of fun with the results of my own dog’s Wisdom Panel test. Although my own guesses were a bit off I found it to be a great, light hearted way to end the family arguments about what sort of dog she really was. So I did it, I bought myself a doggie DNA kit and finally found out what’s in her ancestry.

What is a Wisdom Panel Kit?

Wisdom Panel is a DNA test you can buy for your dog. You simply take a sample of their DNA (swab from inside their cheek ) and mail it in. In about 3 weeks you get your results.

The test works by analyzing your dogs genetic markers and comparing it to those of the 200 breeds of dogs they have tested. These tests have been available for purchase for a few years now and they’ve greatly expanded the markers they test for. It’s not a guarantee but if you’re looking for a fun way to look into your dogs heritage it could be worth it to you.

Here’s a video explaining how guessing a mixed dogs breeds isn’t quite as easy as it seems:

How Accurate Are Dog DNA Tests?

According to a 2008 study by the National Canine Research Council, Wisdom Panel tests were found to be 84% accurate in dogs that had two purebred parents (F1). Beyond that statistic it’s hard to accurately gauge the results. Wisdom Panel tested over 19,000 genetic markers amongst 13,000 dogs during their test development. They currently have over 200 breeds they can identify based on certain markers but there’s no guarantee you’re results will be 100% accurate.

Since the test is done through a DNA sample taken from a cheek swab the accuracy can vary depending on the quality of the sample taken. To ensure accurate results they run validation tests (repeated tests to make sure they’re obtaining the same result) through independent third party specialists.

Science aside it really is a great deal of fun. I recently found myself browsing through the community area on the Wisdom Panel site to test my visual accuracy when it comes to guessing breeds. I get the feeling I’m not the only one surprised by my dog’s results. For the most part I wasn’t too surprised but a few of them stood out as breeds I never would have guessed.

MDRI Disease Screening Now Added to Wisdom Panel Tests

If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to get your dogs DNA tested consider that it’s not just for your own curiosity – it can also be used in testing for genetic mutations.

Wisdom Panel recently added the MDRI mutation screening to all of their dog DNA kits.

Some dogs have a very high prevalence of this mutation. 50% of Australian Shepherds are affected and 70% of Collies carry it. Because a mixed breed dog can have any of the effected breeds in it’s heritage the mutation screening test shouldn’t be limited to just purebreds.

Unexpected Wisdom Panel Results

From most of the community photos I’ve seen a mixed dogs heritage is somewhat apparent. There are a few that really stood out though; these are the wisdom panel results I never would have guessed:

Maggie’s Results

50% Shetland Sheepdog
25% Toy Poodle
12.5% Labrador Retriever
12.5% Mix

 Spencer’s Reults

25% Cairn Terrier
25% Great Dane
25% Pomeranian
25% Mix

Mango’s Results

50% Chihuahua
50% Miniature Poodle

Sweetie’s Results

25% Labrador Retriever
25% Mix
12.5% Basset Hound
12.5% Bernese Mountain Dog
12.5% Bichon Frise
12.5% Bouvier Des Flanders

 Quincy’s Results

25% Akita
25% Gordon Setter
25% Miniature Pinscher
25% Mix

Kado’s Results

25% German Shorthaired Pointer
25% Pembroke Welsh Corgi
25% Rottweiler
25% Saluki

 Buster’s Results

25% Chinese Shar-Pei
25% Dalmatian
25% German Shepherd Dog
25% Rottweiler

 Lulu’s Results

50% Yorkshire Terrier
25% American Staffordshire Terrier
25% Greyhound

Izzy’s Results

50% Mix
25% Irish Wolfhound
25% Samoyed

Skye’s Results

50% Belgian Malinois
25% Boxer
12.5% Siberian Husky
12.5% Mix

Testing your dog’s own DNA is a great way to end those family disagreements over what breed your dog really is. If you’ve always wondered about your dogs heritage check out Wisdom Panel’s dog dna kits – the results are quite fun and entertaining.

Dog DNA kits are also helping to prove that a dog shouldn’t be labeled by appearance alone. Many jurisdictions won’t adopt out shelter dogs if they look like a certain breed – most often a Pit Bull. These tests prove that there’s more to guessing a dogs breed than just eyeballing it.

I’ve always wanted to get my own Heinz 57 dog Laika tested though I doubt it would come back with anything other than German Shepherd & Labrador. Have you had your dog tested? Were you satisfied with the results?

Update – Apparently I’m not so good at this after all; I was only half right about my own dogs DNA results.